because pain is of the mind
by escapedreality
Summary: And the knife will keep on twisting, and there's a continuous bullet in your foot until you shout out- "Stop hurting them!" ArthurAriadne.


a/n: We watched Inception in study yesterday and I became inspired again. So, enjoy.

.: because pain is of the mind :.

You'd been killed more times than you could count.

Mostly by Cobb, quite a few times by yourself and those couple damn times the projections caught up with you. There was also that time with Eames- but you avoided that topic when possible.

Dying though, dying in a dream, was exceedingly peaceful for the most part. Usually instantaneous. It only sucked if you woke up to find you'd failed.

And for the most part, you were proud to say you didn't fail often.

That was prior to inception, prior to _her_.

Any militarized subconscious has to things on it's mind, so to speak:

First, find the dreamer.

Second, kill him.

Torture isn't something widely used in extraction. Sure, Cobb's been known to rough the subject up but that's different that torture, intentional pain. Physical harm that is so much more.

Cobb knew this, and so apparently did Mal.

Saito's was just the first incident. A shot to the foot and mother of god did it hurt! Agony.

But what of a shot to the heart that doesn't kill? A knife that twists and twists until you cry out, tears streaming down your face and you've forgotten that it isn't real- it doesn't matter because it _feels_ real. And the knife will keep on twisting, and there's a continuous bullet in your foot until you shout out-

"Stop hurting them!"

-.-.-.-

Death was something that you used to fear. Shrouded in darkness, spoken in whispers, its horrors shouted in headlines. You could only imagine a hood figure, scythe in hand coming to whisk her into the darkness.

However, you're pleased to find it less scary- to an extent.

When your new employer's ex, no, _wife_ sticks a knife through your stomach while you're held tightly down, well that is positively frightening.

But it becomes easier.

So easy that you'll shoot someone, push someone before launching yourself off a roof, letting the endless fall consume you.

And your first time you didn't fail, so you had this expectation to keep it up and for everything to run _smoothly._

Well that was a silly expectation, wasn't it dear?

Because a thousand impacts on cold concrete, feeling bones break and your brain rattle and a hundred knives in your abdomen couldn't hurt like this. Because your eyes are wide and flowing like rivers and your voice is so hoarse and all you can do is croak out-

"Stop hurting them!"

-.-.-.-

The job really was something all too simple (in theory).

Neither of them had predicted this. Neither of them had though it would turn to a horrific nightmare when Eame's told everyone to "Split up and search"

Because at somepoint there was a hood over her head and she was being dragged and screaming wasn't any good when she couldn't open her jaw.

And at some point there was a blow to the head and when he woke only a seemingly empty room, with him in the middle and a chair.

When she opened her eyes _he_ was there, beaten to bloody pulp and not a hair on her head had been harmed. But he- he was a different story and she tried and tried to reach out to him, to step in front of the masked man but two strong arms were holding her back as she shrieked,

"Stop hurting him!"

And several blocks away he was perfectly fine- or he would have been if she wasn't before him, all broken, when he couldn't do a damn thing except sit and watch and yell until he voice was barely more than a whisper,

"Stop hurting her! Goddamn it, leave her alone!"

-.-.-.-

When they wake they find themselves back at the hotel, alive, without a scratch to be seen and Eames watching them, looking overly concerned (which is a shock in itself).

Arthur's hands are shaking and he's beginning to think they'll never stop as he engulfs Ariadne in hug, not caring what his other teammate has to say. But Eames can't say anything, because Ariadne's crying in earnest, her head buried in the Point Man's chest and Eames just feels pity because, while broken bones hurt and gunshots sting,

Pain is of the mind and just that can hurt a hell of a lot more.


End file.
